The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein

Episode Title: Elisha & The Floating Axe
Date: September 2, 2025
Podcast Host: Yael Eckstein (with dramatic narration and dialogue)

Overview:

This episode transports listeners into the heart of two iconic biblical stories about the prophet Elisha – the miracle of the floating axe head and the deliverance of Dothan from the Aramean army. Through vibrant dramatization, witty banter, and poignant reflection, the episode explores the theme of trust in God’s power for both the mundane and the miraculous. Central to these tales is the message: true faith begins in small acts of trust and grows to sustain us through the greatest trials.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life Among the Prophets: Labor, Banter, and Calling

• The young members of the Guild of Prophets find themselves far from the glamour they imagined, laboring under the hot sun, felling trees to expand their humble dwelling.

• Dialogue reveals camaraderie, teasing, and their reluctance for physical work:

  "If you think this is beneath you, Reuben, wait until I send you to dig ditches. You'll miss the glamour of tree cutting." – Elisha (06:01)

  • Keisha, Elisha’s snarky but earnest apprentice, shines as comic relief and the conduit for deeper lessons.

2. The Miracle of the Floating Axe Head ([09:01]–[12:22])

• When Keisha accidentally loses a borrowed axe head in the Jordan River, he panics, highlighting the practical realities and anxieties of everyday faith.

• Elisha responds not with frustration, but with calm assurance and gentle rebuke.

• He performs the miracle:

  • Tossing a stick into the river, Elisha causes the iron axe head to float.

  "Possible? Keisha, do you know the story of Moses?... Yahweh doesn't struggle with scale. The question isn't whether he can. It's whether you actually trust him to do it." – Elisha (10:31)

• A crucial lesson emerges:

  "Trust starts small, Keisha, like an axe head in a river. But it doesn't stay there. One day, you need to trust him for something much bigger. Your Red Sea moment, as it were." – Elisha (12:03)

  • Insight: God cares for even the insignificant—trusting Him in the small prepares us for the monumental.

3. Trust and Signs: More Than Miracles

• Reuben asks why such miracles aren’t performed more often to inspire belief.

  "It's not about the sign performed, but the truth the signs communicate to us today. The lesson...is about trust. Trust that the Lord cares for the axe head, the small, insignificant things." – Elisha (11:09)

4. Hearing God’s Voice vs. Seeking Power ([12:54]–[14:13])

• Rumors swirl that Elisha can hear enemy plans, planting the real desire in his young disciples: access to supernatural insight.

• Elisha refocuses the group:

  "Hearing God's voice isn't about knowing secrets for your own gain. It's about trust. The kind of trust that lets you act when he calls and stays silent when he doesn't." – Elisha (13:54)

5. The Aramean Threat and King’s Paranoia ([14:59]–[17:59])

• A dramatic scene shift to the war room of the King of Aram.
  • He’s frustrated, believing there’s a spy because his plans are always thwarted.
  • Advisors inform him it’s Elisha, the prophet, who “hears everything, even the words you whisper and the sounds you make in your bedroom.” (16:44)
• The king, in a mix of rage and horror, orders an attack on Dothan, Elisha’s location.

6. Surrounded and Delivered: The Army of Heaven ([18:53]–[24:09])

• Keisha awakes to Dothan surrounded by the Aramean army and races to Elisha in terror:

  "They're here. The army. They've surrounded us. There's no way out. Master, do you hear me?" – Keisha (19:25)

• Elisha, radiating calm, reassures him:

  "There are more on our side than theirs." – Elisha (20:17)

• Elisha prays for Keisha’s eyes to be opened; Keisha beholds chariots and horses of fire—God’s angelic army protecting them.

  "They've always been here, Keisha. You just couldn't see them until now...Trust isn't about seeing it's about believing in what you cannot see." – Elisha (22:08, 22:35)

• As the enemy advances, Elisha prays and God blinds the Aramean army, reducing the threat to chaos.

  "Lord of Heaven's armies, strike them with blindness." – Elisha (23:18)

• Elisha leads Keisha and the trembling prophets forward, shining with the assurance that God is ever on their side.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the comic realities of prophetic life:
  • "It's not snoring. It's prophetic breathing." – Reuben (06:33)
  • "If it's prophetic breathing, then Yahweh must be very annoyed." – Keisha (06:37)
• The challenge of faith in the mundane:
  • "Because I didn't come here to chop trees, Reuben. I came here to learn how to hear Yahweh's voice." – Keisha (08:04)
• Revelation and Reassurance:
  • "Remember the Red Sea, Keisha...The Lord didn't abandon Moses, and he hasn't abandoned us. This is your moment of faith, Keisha. Your Red Sea moment." – Elisha (20:44)
  • "Trust isn't about seeing, it's about believing in what you cannot see. Yahweh has always been fighting for his people." – Elisha (22:35)

Key Timestamps for Segments

• [04:38] – The prophets labor and joke while felling trees; Keisha and Reuben’s banter.
• [09:01] – The floating axe head miracle: problem, panic, solution, and teaching on trust.
• [12:54] – Discussion of miraculous powers, hearing God’s voice, and the right reasons for listening.
• [14:59] – In the Aramean war room: king’s paranoia, discovery of Elisha’s prophetic insight, bold decision to attack Dothan.
• [18:53] – Dothan besieged; Elisha’s calm in crisis, vision of God’s army.
• [23:18] – Miracle of the blinding of the Aramean troops; Elisha and Keisha step forward in newfound confidence.

Conclusion: The Heart of the Lesson

Through two intertwined narratives—the recovery of what seems trivial and the deliverance from overwhelming threat—this episode beautifully underscores the nature of trust in God. Elisha’s calm, wisdom, and humor; the relatable doubts of his disciples; the blindness and bluster of antagonists; and the ever-present, often-unseen help of God combine to paint a living picture of faith for listeners.

"Trust starts small...But it doesn’t stay there. One day, you need to trust him for something much bigger. Your Red Sea moment, as it were." – Elisha (12:03)

For listeners, the story is a call: Dare to trust God with the small things today—so you’ll be ready for the miracles and battles of tomorrow.